I love to travel. It is one of my greatest indulgences to go someplace different and experience something exotic that is far removed from the kind of life I’m accustomed to. Travel gives me pure joy and adrenalin and in the process, helps me become a better person that I am after such an adventure.

On one hand, I like to plan the places I want to travel and the things I want to do. Sort of like a bucket list – if someone might ask. It’s just my way to get a feel of the things I want to accomplish. That way, I won’t be sorry of not doing the things that I should have done while I’m out there.

But on the other, I also like to keep a little bit of room for flexibility and spontaneity. We all know, at some point, plans just don’t often go accordingly. And I have to confess – I have a penchant for welcoming some of these unexpected surprises along the way with an open mind, heart and arms. It allows me to have greater appreciation of how things work especially for those that’s beyond my usual control.

And so, this holiday season is one of the best time to leave extra room for those surprises. When invites come in from every direction from a small gathering here to a fabulous dinner there. A lunchtime beach frolic here to a tub-thumping party there. Seems like the excitement never stops. But then again, so do those last-minute plans that put our anxiety levels on complete overdrive.

Thus, I have thought of some (ahem, personally) tested tips to endure those whimsy holiday travels specifically those short-distance jaunts that turn into an all-nighter. And voila – here goes:

(1) When things go vague, extract it.
Depending on culture, some invites come in the form of word-of-mouth. If you’re lucky, you get yours hand-delivered or snail-mailed or even e-vited. And these provide you with a complete 411 on what to do, how to get there and what to expect. But for some, you get invited through friend of a friend (of a friend of a friend and so on – which again varies culture to culture), and usually contains the vaguest details of the what, the when and the where. So if you can extract as much info as you can from the messenger him/herself – the better.

(2) Have a strategy in mind.
Because, we have a case of a last-minute travel here – make sure to have a compelling reason why you want to take the invitation. As a suggestion, you might want to try having answers to the following questions: What is the invite about? Where and when is it? How much time and notice do I have? How do I get there and how long is the travel? Is there a dress code required? Do I know someone else who’s also going? What do I need to bring? I’m confident there’s more questions you can come up with to prep you – but these are just starters.

(3) Keep a handy travel kit.
The holidays sure do use up a lot of energy and endurance from planning, traveling, socializing and even, ummm eating. So it’s always advised to carry a little go-to kit to keep you perky from all fronts. As an added kick, you can even disguise that chic party clutch to hide those emergency accoutrements from your reliable Advils, breath mints, ginger travel medicine, tissue packet, hand sanitizer to the overnight essentials like pocket toothbrush, toothpaste, deo, dry shampoo, lotion and your fav EDTs. Of course, the basic make up kit is always, I repeat always, on standby, right gals?

Yep, keep these three tips and they will get you going from the time you left for the event until the time you get home. These are surefire way to let you have fun with grace and ease without draining your energy spent at a holiday level low. Go on – take that invite and again, be sure to have fun!

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Photo credits: RSVP Events and CheapHolidayTravels